The British Nutrition Foundation has raised concern after a recent study revealed that 65% of children aged five to sixteen years are not drinking enough throughout the day.

8,800 school children from across the UK were surveyed, as part of the BNF’s Healthy Eating Week. The results revealed that 66% of primary school children and 65% of secondary school pupils are consuming less than six drinks per day; six to eight drinks being the recommended daily amount (1.5-2L).

Shockingly, a third of the children surveyed (primary and secondary pupils) said they are consuming less than half the recommended number of drinks. This can cause lack of concentration, headaches and tiredness, according to BNF.
The research also revealed that 24% of secondary school children and 14% of their teachers did not have breakfast on the day of the survey, and 12% of secondary school children admitted to eating breakfast only when they feel like it. However, breakfast appears to play a larger role in primary school children’s diets, with 92% of 5-11 year olds having breakfast every day.

Roy Ballam, Education Programme Manager at BNF said: “Children need enough food and water to enable them to play an active part in school life and achieve their potential, and these results show that many young people are potentially unable to perform to the best of their ability, or take an active part in school life.”